During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, in order to protect thousands of acres of farmland and Qiantang River from tidal waves, King Qian of Wu Yue organized manpower to build the Qiantang River seawall from Pagoda of Six Harmonies to Genshanmen. People began to build Qiantang before wuyue. Li Daoyuan's Notes on Water Classics in the Northern Wei Dynasty quoted the records in Qiantang Collection, saying that there may be a seawall pond named Qiantang in Li Dongyi, Qiantang County (now Hangzhou). This is the earliest record of Qiantang River seawall in history. Later, the Tang Dynasty built a seawall from Xiaoshan to the east of Shaoxing on the south bank of Qiantang River. Because the early seawalls were made of rammed earth, they could not withstand the long-term erosion of powerful tides. When the money was saved, a new pond-building method was adopted, that is, stakes and iron columns were erected in the water, and then bamboo cages filled with stones were dropped to intercept the sediment on the shore. This seawall made of "wooden cabinets made of bamboo poles" is much stronger than that made of rammed earth and can withstand the impact of the tide for a long time.

The economic development of the south has gradually surpassed that of the north.

The natural boundary between Qinling Mountains and Huaihe River roughly divides the territory of China into two halves. Historically, the economic development of the south has lagged far behind the north for a long time, but later, with the continuous migration of the population from the north to the south, the economy of the south not only caught up with but also greatly surpassed the north. This change has gone through a long historical period and was finally completed in three stages. The first stage is from ancient times to the Western Jin Dynasty. The characteristics of this stage are that the economic development in the north far exceeds that in the south, and the political and economic centers of gravity are the same, all in the north. Until the Three Kingdoms period, although the agriculture in Sun-Wu area developed due to the massive migration of the northern population to the south, and the Bashu area remained prosperous because there was no major war, the economic development in Cao-Wei area still surpassed that in Wu-Shu, which was the basis for the unification of the whole country in the Western Jin Dynasty. The second stage, from the late Western Jin Dynasty to the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties. The characteristic of this stage is that the economic center of gravity gradually shifts to the south, and the economic development of the north and the south basically tends to be balanced and develops to the south, and begins to surpass the north. At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, there was a long-term war in the north, and a large number of people moved south. The south was further developed, especially in the Jianghuai and Taihu areas, which reclaimed a large number of wasteland and became a new wealth area in China. With the reunification of the Sui and Tang Dynasties and the great economic development of the North and the South, the feudal economic site has at least doubled. But before the "An Shi Rebellion", the northern economy still had certain advantages on the whole. Since the Five Dynasties, the southern economy has gradually surpassed the northern economy. The third stage, from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty. This is the last stage of the economic center of gravity moving southward, and the economic center of gravity moves southward irreversibly, and is constantly consolidated and developed. During the Southern Song Dynasty, because the economic development of the South has surpassed that of the North, the financial support of the Song Dynasty was mainly in the South, which was regarded as the foundation of the country. Since then, after Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the economic situation of attaching importance to the south and neglecting the north has never changed, and the southern economy has become more prosperous.

In the Song Dynasty, an excellent variety Zhancheng Rice was introduced from Vietnam.

Zhancheng Rice, also known as Zaohe or Zhanhe, is an early indica rice, which originated in south-central Vietnam and was introduced to Fujian in the early Northern Song Dynasty. According to China's ancient books, Zhancheng rice has many characteristics: First, it is drought-tolerant; Second, strong adaptability, "born without chaos"; Third, the growth period is short, and it only takes 50 days from planting to harvesting. In the fourth year of auspicious symbols in Dazhong (10 12), there was a drought in Jianghuai and Zhejiang provinces, and paddy fields were not planted. Song Zhenzong sent messengers to Fujian, collected 30,000 hectares of rice from Zhancheng, and distributed them to the above-mentioned areas for sowing, which was successful. Soon, Zhancheng rice was also planted in today's Henan and Hebei. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhancheng rice spread all over the country, becoming the main variety of early indica rice and the staple food of farmers all year round.

"Su Hu is familiar and the world is full."

This proverb began to spread from the Southern Song Dynasty, and its source can be found in Gauss's works, such as "Shame Hall hides manuscripts, Fu exhorts farmers". Su refers to Suzhou, now Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province, east of Taihu Lake. Huzhou refers to Huzhou, which is now south of Taihu Lake in Xing Wu, Zhejiang. Taihu Lake Basin, with flat terrain, fertile land and numerous small rivers, is called "Water Town Zeguo". During the period from Song Gaozong to Song Xiaozong (1127-1189), water conservancy in Taihu Lake area was built, and the estuary was opened to the north of Kunshan and Changshu. In filial piety, a gate was set up at the exit of Taihu Lake to adjust the water volume. The lake is low-lying, and the embankment is high, which can block the wind and waves. Due to the dredging of water conservancy, serious floods were eliminated, and low fields and high fields were irrigated. In addition, advanced agricultural production technology, farmers' intensive cultivation, "plowing without waste (city), cutting without ridge" and threshing with the latest farm tools "flail" made Su Hu a high agricultural production area in the Southern Song Dynasty. Crops are harvested twice a year, and the yield per mu in the field reaches five or six stones. Therefore, it is known as "Su Hu is ripe and the world is full".

Rice jumped to the top of grain output in Song Dynasty.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, rice cultivation had been extended to the Yellow River basin. When he was there, the magistrate of Xiongzhou proposed to plant rice on the Hebei road bordering Liao, and it was approved. He was appointed as the ambassador to the border of Hebei, and led more than 18,000 soldiers mobilized from various states to build paddy fields in Xiongzhou, Bazhou and other places, to divert water for irrigation and try to plant rice. Due to the early frost period in the north, the early trial planting failed, which was criticized by opponents and almost abolished. Later, it was changed to an early rice variety in Jiangdong, which matured in August and finally got a bumper harvest. He Chengju transported the ears of rice to Tokyo, and the opposition in the imperial court changed its attitude in the face of the facts. Since then, rice has been popularized in the Yellow River Basin. In the south of China, there are a lot of polder fields. In the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were considerable polder fields in Taihu Lake Basin and many places along the Yangtze River. According to Shen Kuo's Wei Ji in Wanchun, from Xuanzhou (now Xuancheng, Anhui Province) to Chizhou (now Chizhou, Anhui Province), there are polder fields 1000 mu, of which the largest one is 12 mu? 70,000 mu, there is a 22-mile-long avenue in the middle of the Expo, and the whole Expo looks like a big city. With the expansion of paddy fields and polder fields, the cultivation techniques of rice are constantly improving. There is a field management method called "relying on fields" in the south of the Yangtze River. When the seedlings grow vigorously, weeding and intertillage should be done, and the water should be drained and basked in the sun, so that the rice roots can be deeply rooted, and then water should be poured into the ground. After "relying on the field", rice seedlings can be guaranteed to mature even if they encounter drought, and the yield per mu in the field can reach five or six stones. In Mingzhou, Song Gaozong (now Ningbo, Zhejiang), the yield of six or seven stones per mu of rice was the highest in the Song Dynasty. Rice gradually jumped to the top of grain output and became the most important grain crop in Song Dynasty.

Cotton planting has expanded from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian to the Yangtze River basin.

We are talking about cotton, especially cotton, but the cotton mentioned in ancient books includes both cotton and kapok. There are two kinds of cotton introduced to China in ancient times, one is grass cotton originated in Africa, and the other is kapok originated in India. African cotton was introduced to China via Central Asia after Zhang Qian's voyage to the Western Ocean in the Western Han Dynasty. At that time, people called it "white stack". African cotton has low yield and poor fiber quality, but it has a short growth period and early maturity, which is suitable for the climate characteristics of Xinjiang, so it was popularized in Xinjiang very early. But in general, its planting area is not wide, and it has been confined to Xinjiang for a long time. It was not until the end of the Southern Song Dynasty that African cotton grass got the opportunity to spread rapidly in Guanshan and Weishui. Indian kapok was introduced to China through Southeast Asia late. At that time, people called it flowers or "gallows". Indian kapok plants are tall, six or seven feet high, with small mulberry trees like Jiangnan, many peaches and high yield. In central Fujian, "there are thousands of kapok plants, and eight people are not poor" (Xie Fangde's poem "Liu Hui's father benefits kapok"). At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Indian kapok quickly spread to the Yangtze River valley and became an important cash crop in agriculture. The focus of cotton cultivation in the textbook is the cultivation of Indian kapok.

Tea planting has also made great progress.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, tea trees were widely planted in many areas in the south, and a group of gardeners who were separated from grain production and specialized in planting tea appeared. The government of the Northern Song Dynasty implemented the monopoly of tea purchase, and the annual tea intake could reach15 million Jin. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the planting area of tea trees continued to expand. Only Chengdufu Road and Lizhou Road produce 2 1 10,000 Jin of tea every year, which greatly exceeds the national output in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the temperature in the north and south generally became cold.

Historically, the climate in China has been changing from warm to cold, that is, the warm period becomes shorter and weaker, and the cold period becomes longer and stronger. In the mid-7th century, the temperature was higher than today, and this situation continued until the second half of 10 century. 1 1 the climate turned cold at the beginning of the century,1the temperature was lower at the beginning of the second century than today,1the temperature began to warm at the beginning of the third century, but it was still lower than today, and this situation continued until the second half of the third century. In other words, the Tang and Five Dynasties were in a warm period, and the Song Dynasty was basically in a cold period.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were few lakes in the north and many lakes in the south.

In ancient times, there were many lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Later, due to climate change, agricultural development and siltation of the Yellow River, the number of lakes was greatly reduced. Today, there are 16 lakes in Shanxi, 7 in Tang Dynasty and only 3 in Song Dynasty. In today's Hebei, there were more than ten lakes, caves, rivers and ponds in the Northern Dynasties, and there were many in the Tang Dynasty. After the Song and Jin Dynasties, most of these lakes and ponds were annihilated. In today's Henan, there were many lakes and ponds before the Song Dynasty, especially on both sides of the Yellow River. These lakes and ponds are gradually silted up due to the continuous breach and diversion of the Yellow River. Especially after the Yellow River and the South River migrated to capture the Huaihe River in the fifth year of Shaoxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 194), most of the original lakes and ponds built in previous dynasties were buried.

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have always been rich in water resources. During this period, not only did the original lake area expand, but also some new lakes were formed on both sides of the main and tributary of the Huaihe River due to the migration of the Yellow River and the South China Sea, such as Hongze Lake in the west where the Huaihe River meets the canal, Gaoyou, Baoying and Shaobo Lake in the west of the canal (both in northern Jiangsu), Chengxi Lake, Chengdong Lake, Wabu Lake, Gaotang Lake, Nvshan Lake and Garden Lake in the middle reaches of the Huaihe River.

Due to long-term logging, the forests in the Central Plains have been seriously damaged.

The Central Plains was originally covered with large forests. Later, with the development of agriculture and land reclamation, the forest vegetation in the plain area began to be destroyed. During the Qin and Han dynasties, Xianyang, Chang 'an and Luoyang were built on a large scale, and various palaces were built. Longshan and Liupanshan areas in Longyou area in the west of Guanzhong, Qinling Mountain in the south of Guanzhong, Taiyuan, Hedong and Didao counties in the east of Guanzhong have been continuously reduced, and the Great Wall in the northern border county has been overhauled. In some areas with early development and high population density, the forest coverage rate has dropped sharply. For example, there is no "compassion of Lin Ze" in Zou Lu. After Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang, in order to build palaces and aristocratic mansions, he also cut down trees in Luliang Mountain and Yinshan Mountain in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and the forests in Yinshan Mountain were almost cut down. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Daxing City (Chang 'an City) and Luoyang City were built, and logging continued. In the Kaiyuan period, there were no giant trees in the mountains near Chang 'an, so they went to Taihang Mountain to cut down trees further away. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Qishan near Chang 'an and the mountains north and south of the Yellow River near Luoyang became bare copper mountains. In the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a shortage of wood near Kaifengfu, the capital of Tokyo, and the forests in western Qin Long were cut down completely. By the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a great shortage of trees in northern Shaanxi (now Fuxian County, Shaanxi Province), Yan (now Yan 'an, Shaanxi Province) and Sui (now Suide, Shaanxi Province), and the natural forests in northern Shaanxi were cut down. In order to prevent the Qidan from going south, the Northern Song Dynasty also overhauled the city in Hebei Plain, so it did not hesitate to cut down trees in Taihang Mountain. Later, the Liao and Jin Dynasties designated Beijing as the capital, and wantonly cut down the virgin forests in the northeast of Shanxi and near Beijing. In this way, after long-term logging, the forests in the Central Plains have been seriously damaged.

The Development of South Silk Weaving Industry in Song Dynasty

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the origin of silk industry gradually formed two centers: Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan. At that time, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were "cocoons stand thin and mountains stand, and carts are pulled" (Li Gou's Collected Works of Mr. Li Gou Geng Fu Guo Ce). When I was in Song Shenzong, 980,000 tax silks were supplied there every year. At the same time, the silk industry in Sichuan is also quite huge. In Song Shenzong, Jinyuan has 1 17 houses, 154 looms and 580 workers, producing more than 20 kinds of Sichuan brocade. Sichuan brocade production accounted for almost 20% of the national brocade production at that time. By the Southern Song Dynasty, silk weaving was spread all over the south of the Yangtze River, and the beauty of weaving in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was no less than Qilu. The silk industry in Sichuan is not only various, but also huge. In the early years of Southern Song Dynasty, taxes and silks mainly came from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan. In the seventeenth year of Shaoxing (1 147), Dongnan Road collected 390,000 silks, 2.66 million silks and more than 30,000 silks a year. In Sichuan, there are 440,000 tax silks used only for offering sacrifices and rewards, which, together with other tax silks, far exceeds the summer and autumn tax silks in northern Song Shenzong.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the cotton textile industry had developed to the southeast coastal areas.

In the late Southern Song Dynasty, the cotton textile industry first rose in Guangxi and Hainan Island. At that time, Guangxi people used iron bars to grind off cotton seeds, held cotton in their hands, and made it into spun yarn for weaving. In some places, the processes of beating flowers and ginning have been added. The "Jibeibu" (cotton cloth) produced by Leihua, Lianzhou and other states in Guangxi was very famous at that time, which included both thin white and wide "slow Jibeibu" and narrow "coarse Jibeibu". There are many kinds of cotton textiles in Hainan Island, and their uses are quite extensive. Besides making clothes, two sheets made of cloth are called Li Dan, four curtains are called Zhang Li, and the cloth used for paperwork is called saddle. Many cotton fabrics are also dyed, bright and beautiful. Li women also take apart the silk products sold in the mainland, match them with cotton thread, weave them into patterned cotton cloth on the loom, and transport them to Guangxi for sale.

Jingdezhen rising in the Northern Song Dynasty

Jingdezhen, formerly known as Changnan Town, fired porcelain kilns for the first time in the Five Dynasties. Changnan town porcelain raw materials are of high quality and convenient transportation. During the Northern Song Dynasty, many craftsmen came from all over the country, which made the porcelain industry here rise rapidly. When I was in Song Zhenzong, the porcelain provided here had the words "Jingdezhen Year System". During the Southern Song Dynasty, Jingdezhen porcelain industry developed greatly, and the kiln area expanded from the urban area to the suburbs dozens of miles away, with 300 porcelain kilns. Artisans pay attention to absorbing the advantages of famous kilns all over the world, which greatly improves the quality and technological level of porcelain. There has been a fine division of labor within the porcelain kiln, including potters, boxers and earthwork, favorable blanks, turning blanks and glaze blanks, as well as printing, painting and carving. In addition to a large number of folk kilns, there are also official kilns. All kinds of porcelain produced, except some, are exported to many places.

The prosperity of Kaifeng

Kaifengfu, the capital of Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty, was gradually developed on the basis of Hou Liang, the later Jin Dynasty, the later Han Dynasty and the later four generations of old cities. It has three walls: the imperial city, the inner city and the outer city. Their perimeters are 9 miles, 20 miles and 48 miles respectively. The imperial city is the core of Tokyo, where the emperor and his concubines work and live, while the officials of central government agencies are mostly scattered in the inner city, between residents and commercial areas. From Xuande Gate, the south gate of the Imperial City, through Zhuquemen, the south gate of the city, to Nanxunmen Central Avenue, the south gate of the outer city. It is about 200 steps wide and is called "Imperial Street", which is the central axis of the city. There are four streets in Tokyo called "Imperial Road", which are not only the way for the emperor to go in and out, but also the commercial center. One is the Imperial Street mentioned above, and the section from Qiao Zhou to Zhuquemen in Zhuquemen is the most prosperous. There are many restaurants, restaurants, fragrant pharmacies, teahouses and shops here, especially the night market, which is called "Qiao Zhou Night Market". The second is from Xuande Gate to Tushizi in East longitude, to Panlou Street, and then to Xinfengqiu Gate via Xingjie Ma. Panlou Street on this road is a place where big businessmen gather. Shops such as pearls, silk and fragrant medicines are "magnificent houses, wide facades and strict expectations. Every transaction is moving at a speed of tens of millions, which sounds shocking. " In Xingjie Ma, it is often "tián, which makes people want to stop", and the night market here is also a hot spot in Qiao Zhou. Third, there are fish markets, meat markets, gold and silver paint shops and so on. From Qiao Zhou to the east, cross the front door of Suoguo Temple and reach Xinsongmen. Among them, Suoguo Temple is the largest formal market, with 5 million transactions every month, and all kinds of goods are "ubiquitous". Fourth, from the state bridge to the west, to the new main entrance, there are Zhuyu shops and fresh fruit shops.

The prosperity of Lin 'an

Lin 'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, was expanded on the basis of Hangzhou, the capital of wuyue. It has three walls: Miyagi, Zicheng and Luocheng. Their perimeters are 9 Li, 50 Li and 70 Li respectively. Lin 'an is a magnificent city with Wu Shan in the south, Wulinmen in the north, Qiantang River in the east and West Lake in the west. The city wall is 3 feet high and about 1 foot thick, with 3 gates1foot. There is a moat more than ten feet wide outside the city. The commercial prosperity of Lin 'an City in the Northern Song Dynasty surpassed that of Tokyo. From the main street to every alley in the city, there are shops of all sizes. The business on the street is all-weather, and there are also prosperous night markets and morning markets. The transaction volume is also very large, especially in the pearl market. Dozens of miles outside the city, east and west, north and south, are also crowded with people and goods. The most prosperous street in Lin 'an City is a "Imperial Street" running through the north and south, also known as Tianjie, with a total length of 1.35 thousand feet and paved with stone slabs. Tianjie divides Lin 'an City into two parts. There are many shops on both sides of Tianjie, and there are luxurious trade shops, clothing stores, restaurants and tile shops everywhere. Later, when Kyle Poirot arrived in Hangzhou in the early Yuan Dynasty, he called it "the richest and most precious city in the world".

World-famous large commercial ports Guangzhou and Quanzhou.

Guangzhou, located at the mouth of the Pearl River in Guangdong Province, was the largest port in the Northern Song Dynasty. Most merchant ships from overseas countries trade here, which is called "treasure and wealth". In the fourth year of Kaibao (97 1), after the Southern Han Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty, the Municipal Shipping Department was established in Guangzhou as a tax agency for foreign trade. At the beginning, the government completely controlled overseas trade, and it was forbidden for people to deal with foreign businessmen privately. After the foreign ship arrives in Guangzhou, the city shipping company first draws110 goods as tax, and then trades the rest goods at a discount. In the seventh year of Taiping Xingguo (982), due to the shortage of medicinal materials in various places, it was decided to relax the restrictions on imported products, stipulating that except for eight kinds of commodities such as pearl oyster, rhinoceros elephant and iron art, the other 37 kinds of drugs can be bought and sold without permission. In the 4th year of Yongxi (897), Song Taizong also sent people to attract businessmen from South China Sea countries with letters and gold silks. The trade between foreign businessmen and China is increasing. With the development of foreign trade, Guangzhou has been expanding, divided into three parts: Dongcheng, Zicheng and Xicheng, which is several times larger than that in the Tang Dynasty. In Song Zhenzong, an inner city was dug along the city to facilitate the berthing of ships and resist the invasion of hurricanes. By the early years of Southern Song Dynasty, the income of Guangzhou Shipping Company was "twice that of other roads".

Quanzhou is located in the south of Fujian. There are deep-water channels and staggered harbors, which have good port opening conditions. In the Tang Dynasty, Quanzhou, together with Guangzhou and Yangzhou, was a major foreign trade port of China. In the second year of Yuan Dynasty (1087), Fujian Shipping Department was formally established in Quanzhou in the Northern Song Dynasty, which began to establish Quanzhou's important position in the national foreign trade ports. During the period of Zhenghe in Song Huizong (11-1165438), the Northern Song Dynasty set up a "Laiyuan Post" in Quanzhou to receive friendly envoys from all countries. After the Song Dynasty moved south, Fujian became the rear area of the Southern Song Dynasty. Quanzhou, not far from Beijing, is located in the center of the coastline of the Southern Song Dynasty. The south can connect Guangdong and Guangxi, and the north is close to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so it has received special attention and support from the Southern Song Dynasty court, and foreign trade has been greatly developed. By the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Quanzhou had finally become the largest foreign trade port in China. In order to trade with foreign countries, ships in nearby Fuzhou and Zhangzhou must obtain official certificates from Quanzhou Shipping Company before going to sea.

The emergence of jiaozi and the official institutions that issue paper money.

During the years of Jingdezhen in Song Zhenzong (1004- 1007), wealthy businessmen in Chengdu 16 jointly issued the world's first paper money-Jiaozi. These jiaozi "printed on the same color paper, printed with wooden characters, with household names, each with a secret title, and Zhu Mo's mistakes are considered private". The face value of jiaozi should be temporarily filled in at the time of use. The holder of the coin pays cash in the "Jiaozi Shop", which fills in all the numbers of the coin and then gives it to the holder. In the future, the holder of jiaozi can go to any relevant jiaozi store to exchange jiaozi for cash, but at the time of exchange, he must pay 30p extra for each transaction. The use of jiaozi freed people, especially businessmen, from the pain of running around with iron money on their shoulders, which facilitated the exchange of goods.

Jiaozhou, founded by more than a dozen wealthy businessmen, is unable to solve the problem of counterfeit banknotes, and its economic strength is weak, making it difficult to maintain its credit. Cases of counterfeiting JIAOZHOU and JIAOZHOU that cannot be cashed occur from time to time. In the first year of Tiansheng (1023), the government of Northern Song Dynasty set up Yizhou Jiaozi Department in Chengdu, and changed Jiaozi into an official camp. Since then, paper money has become legal tender. The face value of official and business cross coins is regular, ranging from 1 to 10, and each face value is fixed. It is issued once every three years, and the amount of each sector is1256300,360000 iron coins as reserve fund. This solves the problems of forgery and refusal to pay. When the boundary is filled, make a new jiaozi and replace the old jiaozi. When businessmen trade in the old ones from the government, they have to pay for paper and ink for each 30 yuan. If the border is full and not replaced in time, the expired old friends will become worthless waste paper.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the mining industry gradually declined, and the amount of copper coins cast was greatly reduced. Coupled with foreign trade, a large number of copper coins flowed out. In order to cope with the shortage of copper coins, the government of the Southern Song Dynasty set up a "guild meeting" in Hangzhou in the 31st year of Shaoxing (1 1), which was officially launched in the southeast region, divided into three types: consistent, continuous and continuous, and circulated simultaneously with copper coins. Later, for the convenience of circulation, three kinds of tickets were printed: 200, 300 and 500. It is stipulated that three years is the boundary, and each boundary is100000 yuan, and each boundary is called "Southeast Huizi". Paper money became the national legal tender in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Academic trends

On the southward shift of China's ancient economic center of gravity

The symbol of the formation of economic center of gravity. One view is that the so-called economic center of gravity, its agricultural production conditions, transportation facilities and grain provided, should be much superior to other regions. As long as any group occupies it, it is possible to conquer and unify the whole country. Another view is that to judge whether a region has become the economic center of gravity, we should focus on the development level of agriculture, handicrafts and commerce in the region and the proportion of taxes in the national fiscal revenue. There is also a view that to judge an economic center of gravity, we should pay attention to the level of agricultural development, the quantity and quality of population, the proportion of tax revenue in the total national fiscal revenue, the comprehensive level of handicraft industry and commercial city economy, and the level of scientific and technological development.

Second, the time when the economic center of gravity moved south. There are six dynasties moving south, Sui Dynasty moving south, Sui and Tang Dynasties moving south, Sui and Tang Dynasties moving south, Northern Song Dynasty moving south and Southern Song Dynasty moving south. In addition, some scholars believe that there is no so-called economic center of gravity moving south, and hold the view that there is no such thing.

Third, the reason why the economic center of gravity moved south. The apparent reason for the shift of economic center of gravity to the south is that a large number of people from the north migrate to the south, but what is the deep-seated reason for the large number of people from the north migrate to the south? Some scholars believe that this is entirely determined by the geographical differences between the north and the south of China. Some scholars believe that the north is constantly threatened by powerful ethnic minorities and has been in war for a long time. Some scholars believe that the Yongjia Rebellion, Anshi Rebellion and Jingkang Rebellion, coupled with the long-term development of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, will inevitably lead to the loss of soil and water conservation, thus forcing the Han nationality to migrate to the south with more favorable natural conditions on a large scale. Some scholars believe that besides political factors, the frequent flooding of the Yellow River is a factor that cannot be ignored. Some scholars believe that human's excessive demand for nature and quick success lead to the imbalance of natural ecological environment in the north, and the increasingly serious Yellow River flood forces the population of the Central Plains to migrate to the south with late development and less natural disasters. Some scholars believe that the climate change in the historical period is also an important driving force for the economic center of ancient China to move southward. Some scholars believe that the two great upheavals caused by the contradictory movement of feudal relations of production led to the migration of a large number of people from the north to the south, and the feudal relations of production expanded from the Central Plains to the south. As a result, on the one hand, it promoted the transformation of primitive production relations in the south, on the other hand, it added vitality to feudal production relations in the new environment, thus promoting the shift of economic center of gravity to the south. Some scholars believe that the northern region was developed earlier, but due to the limitations of the traditional small-scale peasant economy, people only pay attention to the development and cultivation of food crops, ignoring animal husbandry and forestry, resulting in an imbalance in the ecological environment. Therefore, the population of the Central Plains migrated to the south with late development, no great damage to the ecological environment and superior natural conditions. The rapid economic development in the south has surpassed that in the north, leading to the shift of economic center of gravity to the south.

Picture description

Plough map

This is the collection of the Palace Museum, which depicts the process of farmers from farming to harvesting in the Song Dynasty. The whole picture is a landlord's manor, and many short-sleeved and shirtless farmers are working nervously. Some of them sow and transplant rice, some harvest, thresh and thresh rice and put it in storage, some people water the land and pile straw with dragon bone carts, all of which are clearly drawn. There are also landlords with wide sleeves who get something for nothing, waiting to share the fruits of their labor. Dog legs curse while watching. This painting paints all the agricultural labor in different periods in one painting, and also vividly shows the class relationship of exploiting people in feudal society. It is a rare work, and it also shows the new development and new atmosphere of agricultural production in this period.

Ships in Quanzhou, Fujian

This is an ocean-going cargo ship of the Southern Song Dynasty, which was dug up in the sea mud of Houzhu Port in Quanzhou in 1974. There is nothing above the deck of the hull, except the bottom. The hull is 24.2 meters long and 9. 15 meters wide, with an oval plan and a pointed bottom. The side plate of the ship is laminated by three plates and the bottom plate is laminated by two plates. Divided into 13 cars. Thickness of wooden partition between cabins 10 ~ 12 cm. The partition is closely connected with the hull with flat iron and hook nails to form a watertight partition. This kind of cabin is called watertight cabin in shipbuilding technology. According to research, the ship was a medium-sized ocean-going cargo ship made in Fujian at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, sailing in Southeast Asia. It may have sunk accidentally after returning to Hong Kong from overseas. Referring to the records of ship documents in Song Dynasty and the restoration of traditional shipbuilding experience, the captain is 34m, width 1 1 m, depth is about 4m, and the deadweight is over 200 tons. When the ship was unearthed, there were many relics in the cabin, including spices, medicinal materials, wooden signs, copper coins, ceramics, bamboo and wood utensils and so on. This ship can explain the achievements of shipbuilding in the Southern Song Dynasty and the development of overseas transportation and trade. The rest of the ship is now on display in Quanzhou Bay Ancient Ship Exhibition Hall.